ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – The 17-year-old suspect in Friday’s downtown Orlando shooting that killed two people and injured several more had his first appearance waived Saturday morning.
Jaylen Edgar is accused of opening fire into a large crowd early Friday in downtown Orlando. Police have recommended Edgar be charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a firearm and at least six counts of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm.
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Orlando police Chief Eric Smith estimates anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 people could have been downtown for the Halloween holiday at the time of the shooting.
While Edgar did not appear in court on Saturday, his mother did.
The state requested to have Edgar held until his adjudicatory hearing, which the judge granted.
Friday, just hours after the shooting, Orange-Osceola State Attorney Andrew Bain spoke at a news conference where he said it’s possible Edgar could be charged as an adult.
“Based on the current information we have right now, there’s several aggravating factors that would lead us to charge him as an adult,” Bain said. “But we need to get to the bottom of the investigation first to figure out what exactly — there’s a reason why this happened, which also plays a role in what type of charges he’s going to be facing later on.”
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer also issued a local state of emergency on Friday which requires bars to stop alcohol sales at midnight and puts a curfew in place for the downtown district between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. effective immediately.
The state of emergency is expected to last until next Friday, Nov. 8.
The Orlando Police Department has encouraged anyone with photos or videos from the shooting to submit them as evidence by doing the following:
- Add your details (optional).
- Press “Send Link.”
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